(Official editorial of the Times-Picayune/Advocate, Jan. 4, 2026)
Congress convenes tomorrow for 2026, but without any publicly discernible agenda. Allow us, then, to offer some resolutions on its behalf, in hopes that Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, might take heed.
The resolutions we have in mind transcend mere ideology. They involve a long-term perspective, not immediate political advantages.
Resolution 1: Reassert Congress’ authority. Former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden both asserted unilateral presidential authority beyond all their peacetime predecessors, but President Donald Trump has blown far past even those examples. On tariffs, on domestic use of the military, in having the government demand part ownership in major corporations, on renaming institutions and agencies and on multiple other fronts, Trump has seized powers from Congress’ rightful hands.
The point here isn’t about whether individual policies are wise or not; it’s about who has the proper jurisdiction to decide the policies. To reestablish the Constitution’s intended balance and sharing of powers, and thus to guard against future presidential quasi-tyrannies, Johnson and Scalise (and all their colleagues) must find the fortitude to push back.
Resolution 2: Reestablish a spirit of bipartisanship. When major pieces of legislation routinely can be blocked by rump groups of just five or six members of a single party, all because nobody makes serious attempts to find support from the other side, then Congress isn’t working right. Both sides should be willing to compromise and to accept incremental improvements, rather than insisting on all-or-nothing, purely partisan or ideological fights.
Resolution 3: Find constructive compromise on health care coverage. Louisiana’s own Sen. Bill Cassidy is assiduously trying to do this, most notably on the issue of Obamacare subsidies. Even if a final bill gives neither side all it desires, Cassidy’s proposal to let people receive “Silver” plan subsidies for the overall-cheaper “Bronze” plans seems at least a useful starting point for something to help patients avoid the massive, sudden increase in premiums they face without COVID-era emergency subsidies.
Bipartisanship is needed on larger health care issues, too. The behavioral model should be that of Republican Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas and Democratic Sen. Patrick Moynihan of New York who, 43 years and one day ago, joined to save Social Security for two full generations of Americans.
Resolution 4: Pass legislation limiting mid-decade congressional redistricting. Frequent redistricting leads both to instability and to constant, vicious power plays. Enough is enough. A national law saying the district lines must be drawn once and only once each decade, unless otherwise ordered by the courts, is necessary to stop the unseemly political gamesmanship.
Congress should do plenty of other things, too, but if it delivers on those four resolutions, the long-term prospects for our republic will be much brighter. — 30 — [That is the full editorial, but for the original version, see here.]
